Regardless of the criteria, we could create a list with dozens of companies such as: Oracle, Bentley Systems, Dell, Deltek, Fiserv, Symantec, HP, IBM, Intuit, Kronos, and Yahoo. Limiting the list to 10 is a near impossible task but here are some of my favorites:
· Accenture has a history of expanding geographically and adding specific vertical market expertise.
· Quantive went after smaller acquisition targets (usually under $30 million) while building a dominant position in the online ad space. The combined entity was then sold to Microsoft for $6 billion.
· Cisco is a perennial deal powerhouse, but their success is mainly due to their ability to integrate their transactions.
· Electronic Arts has acquired competitors and complementary technology to become the major independent player in the gaming space.
· EMC uses M&A to expand the footprint of the firm through landmark deals RSA, Documentum, Legato along with dozens of other complementary transactions.
· Francisco Partners The private equity firm is using M&A to build strong positions in specialized markets.
· Google has used M&A to be at the forefront of innovation but has remained focused, a contributing factor to their success.
· Infor Global, with the aid of Golden Gate Capital, has built the third largest ERP vendor behind only Oracle and SAP, entirely through strategic acquisitions.
· Microsoft simply put, the company is the largest and most active technology buyer.
· Sungard Data Systems was built through M&A, and has consistently been one of the most active buyers in the financial services space.
A version of this article originally appeared in Soft•letter and Software Success.